Starting new canvas in Photoshop - from beginning - please help!

[marissav5]

So I've been reading all the previous posts about how to use Photoshop to create pages....but I'm confused.

I want to make all my pages in PS using all the different techniques, but, how do I start?

I went into PS, opened a new canvas. Under Document Size I entered:

W=15.25"
H=11.75'

Set the Resolution (which was defaulted to 72) to 350

and that made my image about 60 M! I thought the M was only supposed to be between 2 & 7?

After creating this new canvas I went to Image > Image Size and tried messing around with the pixel size, but that only changed my Document Size (the width/height).

HELP! I want to get started on my album and am able to use PS pretty good but just can't get past this first step!

What should I be entering when opening a new canvas for:

W=
H=
Res=

and how do I make it fit between 2 & 7 m?

THANK YOU so much!

[Cruiser]

I opened a new canvas using your dimentions:
W=15.25"
H=11.75"

350 dpi

I went to image size and it showed 4113 x 5339 resolution.

I saved as using large document quality size 12 and the blank document was 1.4 mb.

The 60 mb you saw in the image window is not your final size.

Try again, and bring in your picture and other information. Flatten your image if you have layers and save as: (file name). You should have a reasonable size document. If your file is too big when you save as: (file name), you will need to do some manipulation to your resolution to make the image smaller.

350 dpi is the maximum size you should use. MyPublisher recommends 180 dpi to 200 dpi. My 350 dpi books are very large in size and take a long time to upload. Your pictures would fit better if you used 180 or 200 dpi. I am currently using 200 dpi and the books print just fine.

If you are starting with a very high resolution picture say taken with a 10.2 megapixel camera (or any camera taking pictures over 5 megapixel), you will need to reduce your picture size in pixels to be able to put your picture into the blank screen and stay within the 2 mb to 5 mb file size recommended. 7 mb is over-kill and will not produce a good looking picture when printed.

In Photoshop in Image Size, I place a check mark by Scale Size, Constrain Porportions, and Resample Image. Then I choose from the drop down menu whether I'm enlarging my picture or reducing it.

I hope this helps.

[marissav5]

Aha! Thank you so much Cruiser, I am now able to move on to the fun stuff. I was thrown off by that initial "M" number which I thought was the final MB, but I have done what you said and when I saved my jpeg the MB ended out only being approx 3. So thanks again!

Marissa

[Cruiser]

I'm glad I could help. Be sure and post your book later so we can see your work. I've done a lot of wonderful pages in Photoshop and love it. If you decide you want to add different pictures, make collages, etc., you might pick up a copy of Photoshop Elements 6. I do my power processing in Photoshop CS3 or Capture NX (Nikon) and when it comes to putting pages together, find it is easier to use Elements. You can resize right on your canvas rather than having to resize before dragging your picture onto your canvas. Elements can be obtained for under $100. I got mine on sale for $69 and I've seen the program for $39 when there was a special sale at CostCo.